Power Hungry Fool
by S. A. Morley
Summary: A Galactic Federation trooper becomes increasingly jealous of the bounty hunters' unique powers. When a training session amongst Hunters goes too far, it's up to Rundas and the alliance of others to stop this crazed man from taking everything. 3rd installment in RigelGlyth's Corruption Series.
1. Prologue: Survivor

The explosion of Phaaze was catastrophic, and the trooper barely made it out alive. He clung to the fragment of his once proud vessel _Lancelot, _wondering how he was still breathing. He had to ration his oxygen supply, for it was dwindling as the seconds of silence and pain seemed to quicken. Almost like the galaxy _wanted_ him dead.

He shook off the strange thought and watched the empty hole of space that the destruction had caused, thinking of how beautiful the boom had been, until it went awry. Bright blue filled the stars, and eventually caught up to his fleeing ship. However, the wormhole closed before he and his crew had time to escape, thus destroying his ship and about a third of the Galactic Federation's fleet. Scalded bodies drifted around the new graveyard, and crimson blood still boiled from being superheated.

It was growing unbearably hot in his thick suit, sweat seeping from his skin and running down his face. The salt from the fluid stung his eyes and made him make a disgusted frown as it tainted his tongue.

He tried once again to contact Olympus, saying desperately into the microphone on his arm, "Come in. Come in. This is sergeant Larsen. I'm in distress, I survived the blast from Phaaze, and am waiting for any assistance necessary." No response came once he sent the message, but he still attempted it, getting less and less hopeful each time he failed. He pressed the contact button again. "Please! Someone _has_ to be there! I'm going to die, help! Help!"

And less, and less.

He finally gave up, sitting his head on the metal he gripped for safety. Would anyone save him? Would anybody notice that sergeant Jake Larsen was missing? Their _best _sergeant ever trained? He didn't think he would survive.

Something floated into Jake's view. It was small and circular, with three fangs that lined the bottom of the greenish see through body. A trio of large, red nuclei were inside it, with veins that were crookedly stuck around the spheres.

It moved like a jellyfish, slinking towards Jake as he stared at it. When it came close enough, the thing just hovered in front of him, squishing audibly as it extended its claws and retracted them again.

The sergeant was struck in awe. He thought he recognized it, and then it hit him. The creature was a Metroid.

"Shouldn't you be dead?" He said aloud to it, thought he knew that it couldn't understand him. The Metroid spun in a circle, jellyfishing away a few meters. Then he watched in shock as it returned and sped behind him, sinking its teeth in his oxygen pack. Jake tried to reach and pull it off, but he couldn't for some reason, and gasped as his oxygen reserve was blown out from his back. "No, no, no!"

The Metroid tore through his suit, claws stabbing his spine and puncturing through his skin. He could feel the blood spurt from his new wounds. "Aauugggh!!" The thing continued to imbed itself into his back, eventually scraping a hole big enough to fit itself. It crawled eagerly in.

The sergeant went still, the Metroid stirring and wrapping around his backbone. He heard the sickening squelches as the gaping hole from the creature sealed itself as if by magic, locking the Metroid inside him.

Suddenly, the monster within Jake mutated, causing him to transform too. The veins beneath his skin protruded and bursted through his pores, gushing blood everywhere. His hair hardened till the locks became black spines that broke out of the helmet and suit, lengthening. His brown eyes changed to red, with the whites a gross yellow. His teeth elongated an inch more than what each of them were, all sharpening and becoming thicker. His many muscles gained two times their own strength.

Holding his hands to his head, Jake began to scream in absolute pain, though no sound was made. All of his air was gone, and not a single soul heard his agony and suffering.

The mutation from the Metroid completed, and the beast's mind fused with Jake's. They were not two, but one now.

The pain stopped as Jake looked around dead, empty space, his body better and more powerful than it was before. He looked at his hands, which were clawed. He noticed his damaged suit, seeing to it that immediate repairs were made. Almost instantly, his alien half patched up the holes and tears of his armor with more durable, Metroid hide that could withstand much. Now his plating was his own skin.

Something bleeped on his arm, and he looked down. A message was coming in from the G.F.S. Olympus:

"The hunters are arriving for the training, Admiral Dane," said a voice he recognized. Though, Jake couldn't think of the man's name. "any orders for them?"

"Just tell them all to meet at the conference room at 0600 hours. Then we'll talk." The Admiral responded to the question.

An angry thought passed through Jake's head. _The bounty hunters killed our mother. She will never return! _The Metroid screamed unhappily, though the words were spoken through the sergeant's voice.

He smiled, something he hadn't done in a while. "Then let's pay them a visit. We must avenge Dark Samus's death!"

Jake activated the still online jets built into his boots, and was rocketed towards the G.F.S. Olympus, following the coordinates he had already downloaded into his data bank.

_None shall stand in our way of annihilating them all!! _


	2. Twitterpated

Most of the party guests were leaving, satisfied that they had celebrated for three hours straight. The food and beverages had been consumed completely, and the dance floor was being abandoned gradually. I was exhausted, yet butterflies were tickling my stomach.

Samus had _kissed_ me. I felt scatty and as free as a bird as I continued to relive the moment in my mind. Stepping on her shoe, bending over, and her lips pressing against mine. The fleeting sensation of static that shot through me, and how the crowd around us clapped and cheered. I sighed, knowing I would never forget it.

I was also a tad drunk, after indulging myself on several glasses of Merlot wine and a meager sip of ale. Wow, how lightheaded I was. The room seemed a little bit tipsy...

"Rundas? Are you okay?" a voice I recognized asked. I glanced down dizzily to see Samus, her face humorous. "You look awful. No more alcohol for you," she took my hand and lead me out of the room. "Easy does it, now." I smacked my face on something horizontal with a thunk, grunting.

I touched the splitting wound in between my eyes, feeling blood already seeping out of it. "Whoa! Careful of the doorframe, okay?" Samus said patiently, guiding me down a twisting hall without missing a step. How did she stay so balanced? I couldn't quite think of an answer, My mind was fuzzy.

Blinking gore out of my sight, Gandrayda and Ghor appeared at my sides. The purple girl looked up at me as I hummed a random song that popped into my head. "What's with Rundas?" she asked.

Samus looked back. "He's drunk." She said flatly.

Gandrayda shook her head. "The most serious bounty hunter in the entire galaxy gets himself hungover. What a clever guy."

Ghor turned to her as we walked. "He _did_ slurp down about seven Merlots."

"You were watching him?" She questioned.

"Well, when he swallowed the wine the little tubes on the sides of his neck turned red! I was fascinated, I couldn't help myself." The robot looked upwards to me, smiling. "How are you, Rundas?"

"What?" I mumbled, Ghor's eye swelling and shrinking rapidly.

"I asked, _how._ _You._ _Are_!" he said slowly, voice going bass.

I didn't respond, but shrugged one shoulder and stumbled as my foot slipped on something unseen.

The four of us arrived at a room, which was vacant once we stepped inside. Samus made sure I didn't hit my face this time and helped my steadily lie down on a large bed. Gandrayda and Ghor left to other dorms but Samus stayed. "You going to be okay? No sleeping problems or anything?"

I turned on my side, shaking my head slightly and closing my eyes. I heard her footsteps pad away as she flicked the lights off. "Goodnight, Rundas."

I replied with a tired groan and drifted in the land of dreams.


	3. Old Rivals

I awoke with a pounding headache, and sitting up from my bed, noticed I had slept in till 6:30. My face hurt for some reason, and it was covered in dried blood. "Ow, what happened?" I moaned to myself, swinging my feet off the mattress, and standing on the floor. I had to steady my shaking legs by gripping a nightstand for balance.

I held my head, closing my eyes from tiredness. I couldn't remember what I had done recently, well, I could recall everything up to after Samus kissed me. That thought made me feel happy, and my sleepiness melted away. My quaking limbs and headache were not cured, though.

I walked cautiously out of the room, banging my forehead on the topmost doorframe. Why did I feel like I'd done that before? Rubbing my pulsing bruise, I went down the halls of the G.F.S. Olympus, where most of the workers looked as worn out as I had been. I ignored the similarity and approached a trooper.

"Good morning, Rundas!" He greeted me pleasantly. "What could I do for you?"

"Where are the rest of the bounty hunters?" I asked, looking around.

"There in the conference room. I thought you knew?" He wondered, tilting his armored head to the side.

I shrugged. "Guess I didn't get the memo. Thanks for the directions." I waved to him and walked down a few halls to the conference room, where a low buzz of talk came from the inside. I placed my hand on a console, typing in my name and abilities. The door opened and a blast of sound crashed into me as I walked into the crowded room.

I went over to the long stretching table and sat in an empty chair next to Samus. Her Varia Suit was equipped, but her helmet was resting on the tabletop. The chatting stopped.

I stared around in confusion, resting my thudding head in my hand. "Why'd everybody get so quiet?"

Then I noticed the beings sitting at the table. The bounty hunters Noxus, Spire, Kanden, Sylux, Trace, and Weavel were all watching me with shocked faces. Ghor was staring at Weavel with a look of pure idolizing, and Gandrayda had her hand on her face, shaking her head.

"You're alive!!" Trace gawked, his single red eye growing wide.

I snorted. "Well I'm here, aren't I?"

Noxus looked me up and down. "Took you long enough, we've been waiting for half an hour! What have you been up to?"

A green light flashed in my eyes, and I blinked against it as Sylux scanned me. "Rundas is recovering from being previously drunk." It said simply.

Noxus rolled his eyes. "Typical Phrygisian..." He muttered, though I heard.

I leaned forward, shooting the Vhozon a poisonous glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," he responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "the Phrygisians are known to be irresponsible of their bodies. Unlike us Vhozons, who are mindful and clever with substances, and are careful with that which we drink and consume."

"Are you saying that I'm ignorant?" I felt every bounty hunters' gaze on me.

"In a way, yes."

"How about we see which of us is smarter once I pound your head into the wall?!" I shouted, rising from my seat and forming ice at the edges of my hands. The other hunters went tense with excitement.

"Are you challenging me- the great Noxus?" The Vhozon stood, holding his Judicator at the ready above the counter.

"Were you stupid enough to _just_ recognize that, Vho-filth?" The bounty hunters 'ooh'ed'. "Then if you're retarded brain can't comprehend what I'm saying, I'll repeat it slow enough for you to process it. _Are... You... Going... To... Fight... Me.... Or... Finally.... Realize... That.... You're... A... Big... __**Pansy?!**_**"**

Noxus screamed, launching himself over the table and onto me. He fired small yet sting inflicting chunks of ice at me, which scraped against my thick armor with screeches. The Vhozon was on top of me, and was rapidly kicking my body with his feet.

Chairs pulled out from the table as the rest of the hunters came by to see the scuffle. My foe slashed at my limbs, and I stabbed at his eyes with sharp ice. He shot my wounds with his Judicator, and I froze his knobby knees. I punched Noxus hard in the face, and he grabbed my tentacles, pulling fiercely. I jerked and twisted, trying to break free.

A sucking pop sounded from my neck area, and I cried out as blood spouted from my loose tendril, soaking my chest and dribbling onto the floor. The rest of the hunters cheered. For either Noxus or me, I wasn't sure. The pain was excruciating.

Noxus got up, standing over me in conquering. I grabbed my gushing tentacle, it slipping through my fingers. The rest of the guests on Olympus clapped, all but Samus, Gandrayda and Ghor.

I glared, refusing defeat. I formed ice thickly around my foot, aiming a good kick in between Noxus's legs. His praise was cut short by his air getting knocked out of him, and the Vhozon clutched his groin with pinched shut eyes.

I sat up as he struggled to breathe. "Well, it wasn't your head, but it's good enough." I smirked as Noxus sunk to his knees, but I wasn't sure who had won. Ah well. At least I nailed him in a pretty darn good spot.

The conference room door opened, Admiral Dane walking in and seeing the gathering of bounty hunters around Noxus and I. He had a confused look on his face. "What's going on with you guys?"

All but Noxus began to snicker.


	4. The Mysterious Federation Trooper

Admiral Dane ordered us all back to our chairs after an explanation from Spire. Then, after giving me a bandage to soak up my blood, and an ice pack for Noxus's crotch, he started to talk. "Welcome, bounty hunters from all across the galaxy. You have gathered here today after agreeing by the Galactic Federation's asking for special training. We thank you greatly, and hope you enjoy the course we have planned for each of you. Now you will all begin this evening at 1900 hours. For those of you who aren't familiar with military time, that's around 7:00. Meet at this very room and we'll get you all going. Enjoy the rest of your day." The Admiral saluted, nodding once.

The ten bounty hunters stood, and filed out of the conference chamber in a mannered way. "You-" Dane said to me. "Get that whatever-it-is on you stitched up. And you-" he spoke to Noxus, who was walking out of the room painfully. "Pull yourself together. It was merely a crunch-shot." He turned, chuckling, and muttering his insult towards Noxus to himself several times.

I held my bleeding tentacle, blood still gushing through my fingers and running down my wrist. But, by this time, my entire arm was blue, so there didn't make any difference if I stopped the seeping wound.

"Are you okay? That tear seems bad." Samus said as she walked in step with me out of the room. "Want me to look at it?"

I nodded, smiling. "Thanks," I went to a bench and sat down, with Samus seating herself to my right. She reached up and took the tendril in her armored fingers. "be careful. There sensitive." I cautioned, tightening my shoulders.

She laughed lightly. "Don't worry. Even with my aggressive hunting, I can be gentle," Samus twisted around, calling to the Federation workers who did their duties on Olympus, "may I have some towels, please?"

Someone strolling by complied, dashing off through a hexagonal door and returning moments later with a stack of fresh cloth. He handed them to Samus, who thanked him with a smile.

I felt the softness of the towel as Samus absorbed the blood from the tentacle, eventually tainting the white completely blue. She set that one aside and grabbed another, resuming the cleaning.

"That Noxus is quite a character, huh?" She said.

I nodded, making sure I didn't bump my wound. "He's changed much since I last saw him."

"Which was...?"  "About six years ago. I never imagined him becoming so cocky."

"You used to be that way, before you were taken by Dark Samus," she responded sadly, discarding another soaked towel. "Do you remember that?"

"It's been only two days since I was locked inside her. Why do you ask?" I turned my head down to Samus.

"Because it feels like an eternity or some reason... That I didn't see you for so long... Thinking you were dead..." She muttered, continuing to mop up blood.

"But I wasn't _completely_ gone. You know that, right?"

Samus stopped cleaning, running out of rags. Nodding, she said, "We should probably get you to the infirmary. I can't stitch this back onto you." She stood, looking down a hall. "It's that way, did you want me to come along?"

I sighed. "No, I think I'll be okay. Thanks for the offer, though." I turned away, walking to where she had mentioned. "See you around, Samus."

I padded down the corridor, hearing her say, "Bye, Rundas."

I opened the infirmary door, seeing the nurse that toyed with medical tools out of boredom. Her blond haired head twisted in my direction and she smiled. "Hello! My, what happened to you?" She approached me, taking my arm and leading me over to a doctor's bed, where I sat on the crinkly paper that was laid over it.

I shrugged. "Got into a little fight. This hurts like there's no tomorrow."

She laughed a few times. "I can imagine. Now just sit still..." She had retrieved a stool, standing on it in able to reach my height. "I have to sow this back on, so it will hurt. But a big strong bounty hunter like you should be able to handle it, right?"

I sat as quietly and anti-fidgety as I could. The pain from the needle she pulled in and out of my jaw pinched and stung. I winced when she poked through my skin each time she brought the pin up and then back down. A thin, yet strong elastic string held my tentacle back in place once the nurse was finished.

"There! That should be good!" I got up, rubbing the sore and throbbing spot on my neck. "Don't get into any more fights now, you hear?" I nodded, leaving the room and thanking her for the help.

My little trip to the infirmary had eaten about five minutes out of my day. I noticed that Trace and Spire were walking towards the cafeteria hall, talking in low voices. Curious, I followed them as the aroma of food reached my nose. I breathed deeply, my stomach growling from hunger. They entered the dining area.

I ducked under the door, finding a table where Gandrayda and Ghor ate. Samus, Noxus, and Kanden were nowhere to be seen, but Sylux and Weavel were ordering their breakfasts. I sat next to the shapeshifter and robot. "Hey."

Ghor didn't look at me, but mechanically shoveled a slice of his cheese omelette into his mouth. His head was turned towards Sylux's table, though I wasn't too sure who he was watching. A blank stare was on his face.

Gandrayda set down her glass of orange juice. "I see you've gotten patched up." She pointed towards my tentacle.

I nodded. "Yeah, it wasn't too bad."

She smiled, giggling. "I loved when you totally winded Noxus. That was hilarious. You should've seen him walking awkwardly down the hallways. Absolutely priceless."

"Did I kick him that hard?" I asked, sounding like I was worried. Yet I internally screamed, _"Yes!"_

"Didn't you see him holding his crotch? You deserve a gold medal for that perfect score!" She raised her hand, and I high-fived her.

My stomach growled again. "What's on the menu this morning?" I asked Gandrayda as she swallowed a mouthful of her juice.

"Usual crappy human stuff. There's hash browns, eggs, sausages, and a whole variety of other things I have no idea how to pronounce." I looked at the list of morning meals one could order above the kitchens.

"I think I'll have waffles. Those sound good." I got up and approached the counter, asking the woman taking requests politely for what I wanted. She nodded, turning and shouting commands to her co-workers.

I spied a sign that was posted on the window. **Please wait patiently for you food. Thank you, **was what it read, so I followed. I stood, not noticing someone approach me.

"Excuse me, Phrygisian, might I come through?" A gruff voice said from behind me.

I turned and looked down to see a Galactic Federation trooper, who's suit was equipped with shiny silver armor. His helmet was placed a tad hastily over his head, barely exposing some reddened skin on his neck. There were dents in his suit, but none of them were extremely serious. I couldn't see his face through the glass that covered the front half of his helmet.

"Of course." I stepped to the side, allowing the trooper to order what he would like as well. I noticed what appeared to be a trio of tear marks that had been recently sealed on his back. His shoulders were broad and strong, his legs thick and muscular. The soldier's spine was bulkier and more protrudent than what was average. Maybe he was some sort of genetically enhanced super soldier... _Grossly_ enhanced...

A plate being set down onto the counter startled me, and I saw on it a stack of three golden brown waffles, with blue berries and whipped cream on the sides in bowls. On the tray was a fork, knife, spoon, and napkin.

I took the platter, smiling and thanking the lady who manned the ordering window. I went back to Gandrayda and Ghor's table, licking my lips and slicing through my first waffle.

Gandrayda grabbed her own fork and took a bite of my waffle too, dipping the end of it into the whipped cream. I made a face. "Hey! That was mine!"

She smiled with the fork prongs in her mouth, purple eyes glistening. She chewed and swallowed, scooting across the bench and opposite of me. "Come on, Rundas, be honorable and nice to women. Why don't you act the way around me like you do around Samus, hm?" She reached forward and took another chunk of the waffle.

I grumbled. "But it's my waffle... Why didn't you order one for yourself?"

Gandrayda downed another bite of my food. "Because the lunch lady's creepy and always stares. Besides, I get most of what I want in life from other people."

I smothered the waffles in whipped cream and sprinkled the berries all on top. "You're a pain in the neck, you know that?" I cut into a corner, stabbing the waffle piece and inserting it into my mouth.

Gandrayda giggled. "Yep. You already told me once, remember?"


	5. Hunted

Once my plate was cleared (Gandrayda had most of it), I looked towards Ghor; who hadn't moved at all. I leaned towards the shapeshifter, whispering, "Is Ghor okay?"

She looked as well, sighing. "I have no idea. Ever since Weavel's shown up, he's been like a creepy stalker to him. Always staring and barely talking to anybody. I mean, he's not even noticing what he's eating. Ghor hates cheese!"

I saw the oozing yellow omelette which lay partially untouched on his platter. "That's weird. Why would he do that?"

Gandrayda shrugged. "I don't know. He would've never met Weavel if the Federation guys hadn't asked him to come. Do you even know why they asked, anyway?" she looked at me, her eyes curious.

"I heard from a few workers that when the other hunters found out Samus saved the galaxy, they wanted to be as good as she is. So, the Galactic Federation seized this opportunity and sent out an invitation for some free training. I don't see why Sylux accepted, though, he hates the Federation as much as he hates Samus herself." I frowned. How could anyone hate Samus?

"Hm... Whatever. These other bounty hunters are all screwy and weird. Like that Kanden guy. What crap is he supposed to be? Some sort of mutant booger?"

I chuckled a bit. "He is kind of strange."

"Kind of?" Gandrayda echoed, raising an eyebrow. "You're missing the deal here, Rundas."

"Have you missed _him?"_ I said, pointing towards the mysterious marine that was sitting a table away. His helmet wasn't off, but he was eating his breakfast sandwich. I heard him grunt and groan in disgust when he chewed and swallowed his food.

She turned her head around to look at him. "Yeah. When he walked in, he looked me up and down. I especially didn't appreciate how he eyed my body," she shivered, shaking her head. "I think he's a pervert."

"You can never judge one by their cover, Gandrayda," I said, standing and taking my plate with me. She stood up too, walking alongside me as I set the tray onto a self-dishwashing rack. "Especially when that person is wearing a heavy metal suit."

We were walking through the doorway when I stopped. "Is Ghor coming?"

"Who cares? He's busy studying the love of his life, Weavel. Let's leave him," Gandrayda suggested, exiting the cafeteria. I sighed, following her.

"So what are we going to do for the next twelve hours?" I asked once we were on the main floor.

Gandrayda yawned. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna to take a nap. I deserve one for staying up late," she opened her bedroom door, stepping inside. "Goodnight, Rundy." The door closed, leaving me bored and alone in the halls.

I exhaled heavily. What _was_ I going to do to keep myself entertained?

Some time later, I found myself wandering the many corridors and floors of Olympus, being greeted by humans and receiving a nod or no acknowledgement at all from other bounty hunters. I didn't see Samus, which made me a little disappointed.

I passed the enigmatic trooper once, and he watched me with a look that made me feel exposed. I turned my gaze away, still sensing his eyes on my back and hurriedly rounded a corner.

The passage I emerged into was completely deserted, with many doors lining either wall. "Weird... Nobody's here..." I muttered to the silence, yet walked down the corridor out of apathy. My footsteps seemed booming, and my breathing even louder. I began to grow uneasy.

It wasn't until the lights overhead started to flicker that I knew I was being followed. I flipped around, searching cautiously for anybody.

Or _anything_.

Nothing moved, or even made sound as I held my ice at the ready to shoot. Adrenaline shot through my veins, making me more alert. And then the lights died. I jumped, seeing sparks rain to the floors and around me. I flinched away from the warmth they produced, and started to pace around the hallway. I was completely blind.

"Don't like the heat, do you, Phrygisian?" I heard a scratchy voice whisper, and I aimed my hand to where I heard it. Near my left. Nothing happened.

"I'm over here!" The voice said again, and I turned and kicked the nearest door down with a crash, firing ice shards. I listened to them sink into the wall and slice an oil tank in the room. The fuel inside leaked all over the floors.

Sloshing through lubricant, I felt something sharp shriek against my shoulder armor. I wildly lashed out and hit something gritty and spiked. I groaned in agony as whatever it was' barbs dug into my wrist.

The spikes pulled themselves free, and I heard heavy footsteps trail away from me a few feet. Maniac laughter sounded afterward. Ignoring the pain in my arm, I turned towards the noise. My adversary froze in place once I heard their feet halt swishing through crude oil.

A rogue spark that fell from the light overhead ignited the grease on the floors, flames exploding in the passage with a boom. The sudden heat caught me by surprise, and I cried out and sunk to the floor. Fire reached out for me with bright orange, wispy fingers, and smoke filled the corridor. I started to cough, and then saw the person who had assaulted me.

"You're the tr-" a sharp blow on the side of my head ended my exclamation, knocking me out cold.


	6. First Victim

Steady whooshes of air woke me from my unconsciousness. I opened my eyes, the lights bright inside the room wherever I was. Familiar faces surrounded me, Gandrayda, Ghor, and Samus.

I tried sitting upright, but was held back by a doctor. "Whoa, easy there, Rundas. Don't be getting off too quick," he made me lie back down, securing the small oxygen mask that covered my mouth.

"Why am I here?" I demanded.

"We found you in a storage hall, underneath open flames. What did you do? How did the fuel get spilled?" he asked, holding a clipboard in his arms.

I reached up and held my pounding head, where I felt a swollen bruise on my temple. "I don't know..." I mumbled, mind clouded and blank. "It's all a blur..."

Samus looked worried, and came to my side. "What are you saying?"

"I don't know what happened. I just... can't remember..."

She turned to the doctor. "Does he have amnesia?"

He glanced at some charts, flipping a few pages. "Only a slight case. Nothing too serious. Do you know your name? Where you were born?"

"Yes. Rundas and the planet Phrygis," I replied, watching Ghor fumble with something on his arm. "Why?"

"Because of this," Ghor said, hooking up his wrist to a computer in the wall, static sounding, but then a picture glowing to life. All heads turned towards the console. "The security camera in sector S-4 of Olympus shows Rundas entering the storage area, and then something attack him. Problem is, we have no idea what it is because the lens was tampered with." The robot leaned forward, studying the screen and stroking his chin. "This is strange."

"Did you see what assaulted you?" the doctor asked me.

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

He sighed, rubbing his brow. "I wonder how hard the hit was..."

Gandrayda approached, scooting herself between Samus and the doctor. "Well, it obviously was strong enough to knock this hard head unconscious," she said, and I glared. "What could've done it?"  "Something with enormous power. No human on this ship for that matter..." Samus said, setting her helmet onto the edge of the gurney I was on. Her blond hair was pulled into a high ponytail that ran down her armored back. "Could it have been one of the hunters? They're thick muscled."

I snapped my fingers. "Noxus! He probably burned me alive just to get back for that killer nut shot I gave him! That Vho-filth, I oughta go and stab through his face-" I abruptly sat up and swung my left leg off the bed.

"Rundas! Don't accuse Noxus of this accident. The figure in the tape was bigger and more of a behemoth than the Vhozon is. It wasn't him!" the doctor said, pulling me back onto the stretcher. "Now if you get out of bed one more time..."

"You're right. Noxus is a scrawny wimp, anyway. He wouldn't have been able to even give me a headache." I confirmed, imagining ripping the Vhozon's head away from his shoulders. He had always possessed a knack for pissing me off. "Who could it have been? I've only passed out a few times in my life."

The gathering around me continued to think. "It couldn't have been anybody we know," Ghor said, unplugging himself from the computer. "who would have a grudge on Rundas?"

They all looked at me for an answer. "Nothing comes to mind," and certainly nothing ever would, as long as I had this amnesia stuff.

I looked to a clock on the nightstand. It was around 8:45, more than two hours had passed since breakfast. I had been out for _that_ long? I sighed. This had been one whirlwind of a morning.

Gandrayda approached me, leaning down and squinting at my wrist. "What are you staring at?" I asked uncomfortably.

She kneeled and reached for the injured limb with two fingers, grabbing something with her nails and tugging. I winced and grunted under my breath, "Ow!!"

She pulled out a medium sized, blue dripping spine and held it carefully. "What did you smack your arm into, Rundas? Some sort of space-porcupine?"

The doctor appeared at her side, clearly intrigued. He snatched the barb from her and held a magnifying glass to it, his hazel eye growing large and fish like from my angle of the glass. "It appears to be some sort of sharp hair!" he finally said.

We all made confused faces. "Hair? Like _real_ hair?" Ghor wondered, taking a closer look at the black spike. "Who on this ship has black hair that's razored enough to slice through a Phrygisian's hide?"

"Someone with guts, I'll tell you that," Gandrayda uttered, folding her arms and leaning against a book case.

Samus came to me and kneeled, looking at the lump on the side of my head. She reached up and touched it softly, a sad expression on her pretty face. "I hate seeing you hurt."

I smiled. "It makes me feel manly."

She laughed lightly a few times, taking her hand away. "Look, I'm sorry for freaking out before. I don't know what came over me. I just had that feeling again... When you want to protect someone but you don't think you can. I didn't know what was happening when you got absorbed, but when I realized you left... I couldn't take my guilt for letting you go." Samus hung her head.

"It's all right. I'm fine now, and I'm still breathing, right?" I said cheerfully as the doctor, Gandrayda, and Ghor went to another table to analyze the knife lock of mane. "Everything is going to work out fine."

She smiled, leaning her head against my shoulder. She chuckled. "You smell like smoke."

I looked down to my soot caked body, inhaling the odor as well. "How come I didn't notice how I smelled but you did?" We both laughed again, her voice soft and relieved.

Our joy was cut short by the infirmary doors blasting open, a crew of about six marines barging in and carrying something big. I sat up, and Samus stood to see what was going on.

"We need a medic! Quick!" one of the soldiers pleaded, hustling with the rest of his platoon towards another gurney.

The doctor rushed over. "What's going on?"

"We found him-"

"Where?"

"In the sub-zero storage units."

The men parted, and I saw the bloody, shredded body of Spire.


	7. Loss

I gasped, tugging off my oxygen mask and dashing over with Samus and Gandrayda and Ghor. The doctor ordered the troopers away, and started examining Spire's crumpled and burned silicon form, picking off small samples of the residue left on it. The usual orange lava spikes that had been sticking up on his shoulders and back were missing, leaving him fragile looking and useless. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing in and out heavily. I touched his foot, the closest thing to me. "It's cold." Spire's kind were always warm.

"Spire? Can you hear me?" the doctor said, shaking the Diamont enough to slightly pry his eyes open.

He moaned, shifting around on the stretcher, which caused him to cry out. I only then noticed large chunks of his chest were missing, revealing a few of his internal organs. His arms were streaked with scars that were deep enough to possibly have cut through them entirely.

"Get me some painkillers, now!" the doctor ordered, his assistant opening a cupboard and removing a large bottle. The doctor swiped it from her, uncapping it and sticking the open part into Spire's mouth. The Diamont swallowed twice, eventually his writhing subsided, and he lay still.

The doctor set the container aside, asking patiently for Spire to open his eyes. He did, and they glowed bright yellow. "What happened?" the alien wondered.

"We don't know. Do you remember?" he asked.

Spire shook his head. "No. The only thing I recall seeing was something dark and big chasing me down a hall and then into the cold rooms. After that, it hurts to think," his voice was exhausted and red blood dribbled from his mouth with each syllable he spoke.

His yellow eyes flicked to me. "Get the Phrygisian away! I hate his kind's ice powers. They're probably the reason all of my species are gone."

I stepped back, standing quietly behind the group. Samus came with me too, and we both sat down together on my gurney. "Is it true? That the Phrygisians wiped out the entire Diamont people?" she asked.

I stroked my bruise. "Not in any of the legends I've heard. The Diamonts and the Phrygisians have always been rivals, in a way. His magma abilities and my ice didn't mix well when our ancestors first met."

She nodded. "Makes sense."

I leaned against the wall, sighing. "Crazy to think it's only been a day with all these bounty hunters on Olympus and someone already got hurt. Severely."

Samus laid her head on my arm, tucking her shoulder pad to the side. "You've forgotten yourself. You got hurt too."

I snorted. "It wasn't all that bad. Besides, all I came out with was something stuck in my wrist and a bruise the size of Noxus's ego. At least I'm not powerless like Spire," I felt Samus go rigid. I looked down to her. "What's wrong?"

She sat up. "Did you say powerless?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It was a figure of speech, though."

She stood, walking across the room and back to Spire on his bed. I got up too, following behind her. "Spire," she said, and his head turned over to her. "can you still use your Magmaul? Do your magma powers still work?"

He looked down at his tattered body, and how brown and black it was. When I'd seen him before, he was armored with lava of oranges and yellows. Spire shook his head. "No. I can't conjure more. If there's none on the outside, then there's none on the inside." he explained.

"His powers were taken from him?" Ghor said.

The doctor rubbed his chin. "Apparently... Could you demonstrate, Spire?"

The Diamont sat up, grunting. We all moved to the side, giving him an open space to launch his lava. He raised his arm and focused hard. Nothing happened.

"Remarkable..." the doctor muttered, eyes growing wide. He placed his hand on his head, running his fingers through his thick red hair.

"Maybe if I move around my powers will come back. Could I try, doctor?" Spire asked, already getting his feet off the bed.

"Uh, I guess. Feel free." Spire stood, walking the perimeter of the room, turning his head around. His lava didn't spark back, and he started to swing his arms and stomp his feet. He eventually stopped after the six of us watched him for several minutes.

"They're not coming back. I'm powerless, now." Spire hung his head, and the infirmary went quiet. This was devastating news.

The door opened, Admiral Dane stepping in. He had a puzzled expression on his face. "What happened, Spire?"

"I don't know. I can't remember," he responded, the Admiral approaching him.

"Why can't you? Did you get hit or something?"

Spire rubbed his nape. "I don't know. I can't remember," he repeated.

"What's wrong with your neck?" the doctor asked, walking over to the Diamont and standing on his tip toes. Spire was half a head taller than the man. "Oh my..."

"What is it?" Gandrayda asked, and came forward. Along with Samus, Ghor and I.

I took a peek at the back of Spire's neck, since I was taller than anybody else here. Right below where his skull was, were three holes.


	8. Not Safe

They couldn't figure it out. What were the strange marks on Spire's neck? Why didn't I have them? It didn't make any sense.

Ghor made a connection by re-watching the the S-4 tape -and then downloading the tape from the cooling docks- that whatever attacked me, also attacked Spire. Something was after the bounty hunters.

Panic started to rise, and with Spire's powers gone, the scientists on Olympus were thrown out of wack. They were extremely confused and wanted desperately to study him. But Admiral Dane forbade it, still wanting the hunters to train that evening.

It had been several hours since the Spire incident. I was sitting in the cafeteria at around noon, eating lunch with Samus, Gandrayda and Ghor.

I took a bite of my chicken wrap, lettuce on the inside crackling as I bit into it. Ghor was digging into his pizza, Gandrayda was munching a sandwich, and Samus was stirring her soup.

"You haven't touched your soup. Are you okay?" I asked Samus.

She had her eyes turned down. "I just... recognized the holes on Spire's neck..." she muttered, Gandrayda and Ghor looking interested.

"How?" I wondered.

"A long time ago, I made friends with this baby Metroid. It bit me when it wanted attention. Those markings are the exact same as the ones I have on my arm," she dematerialized her wrist armor and undid the zipper on her forearm. A trio of small, faded, circular scars were visible.

We all gasped. "So a Metroid attacked Spire and Rundas?" Ghor said, leaning towards Samus. "But what would a Metroid want with Spire's magma abilities?"

"Or Rundas's ice powers?" Gandrayda added.

Samus fastened the jumpsuit zipper and reapplied her armor, shaking her head. "I'm starting to think that Metroid Prime is coming back. Or worse, Dark Samus."

"Why would either of them attack the bounty hunters?" I asked.

Samus stood. "I'm not sure. We have to warn Admiral Dane and evacuate all the Galactic Federation. They're both _very_ dangerous." She stood, with three of us following her out of the cafeteria.

We ran down the Olympus's halls, dodging workers and troopers that were in our way. I struggled to keep up pace with Samus, for I was right behind her. Man, she was fast!

We sprinted to the main command deck, finding the Admiral talking to a scientists. "Understand this, Charles, I'm not letting you take Spire into your labs," he said sternly.

The other man protested. "But Dane-"  "No! I said you can't! He'll heal on his own. He's the last of his kind, he'll survive," he dismissed Charles with a wave of his hand. The scientist stomped away, face red and spitting out curses. Dane saw us approach. "Whoa! What's the rush, guys?"

"We think that Metroid Prime has returned, maybe even Dark Samus," she didn't even sound winded. The rest of us were panting slightly. "we have to evacuate everybody. There's no telling what could happen if we stay up here any longer!"

The Admiral's eyes widened. "You're absolutely sure?" We all nodded.

He hung his head slowly. "Very well." he pressed a communication button on his collar and spoke into it. "Attention all Galactic Federation Starships, this is Admiral Dane of G.F.S. Olympus. Due to the terrible circumstances we have faced today, I am calling a full evacuation of each fleet down to planet Norion. There, we have a large base and will be able to accommodate each and every member of these starships. Make sure nobody is left behind. Thank you. Admiral, out."

He turned to the four of us. "I suggest you get to your fighter, Samus. You three, your ships are still here, right?"

I shook my head. "No, mine's on Bryyo, somewhere. I can't use it because it thinks I'm dead."

He looked to Ghor, and the robot shook his head too. "I used my bigger suit for transportation. It was destroyed when I was corrupted."

"I can turn into a ship, no sweat," Gandrayda mentioned, smiling. "But," she jabbed her finger towards Ghor and I. "nobody's riding inside me this time! Especially guys!"

The Admiral nodded. "Then Rundas, Ghor, you can ride in one of our vessels-"

"Wait, Dane," Samus interrupted. "I think there's enough room in my ship for another person," she looked up to my level. "would you be interested in riding with me?"

I smiled. "I'd be delighted." The Admiral smirked.

"Okay Ghor, Gandrayda, follow me and we'll go down to Norion." As he turned away, I thought I saw him wink at me.

Samus was walking in the opposite direction. "Let's go, Rundas. My ship's this way." I followed her to the shuttle dock labeled 'C', where her hawk like fighter sat in the very middle of the platform. "Open," she said to it, and a cylindrical hatch lowered itself for her to enter.

She approached it, standing on the edge. Samus tapped her foot on the bottom of it, "You coming?"

I nodded, boarding the hatch and standing close to her. Her head came up to about my ribcage. She spoke, "Close," and we rose into her ship.

It was dark in the cockpit, but once Samus and I were inside, the lights came on, as did the consoles. She went to a single chair and sat down in it, pulling a lever and typing in a four digit access code. I didn't know what to do. "Make yourself comfortable, Rundas."

I leaned against the wall and sunk to the floor, hearing the engines purr quietly to life and the ship leave Olympus. Out of the back window, I saw someone on the dock, waving their arms towards us. "Samus! There's a man that was left behind down there!"

"Want to pick him up?" she asked, looking back. I nodded, and she turned her fighter around and landed onto the dock. She opened the hatch, and the ship brought the Federation trooper in.

"Hello again, Phrygisian," said the armored man. He turned his helmet clad head to Samus. "Thank you for not forgetting me. Who knows what could've happened to me if I'd stayed on there with that monster!"

Samus seemed uneasy about her decision. "No problem. You could just sit by Rundas." she closed the hatch once more and we flew out of the bay, joining the rest of the evacuating fleet.

"Rundas is your name, huh?" he asked as he sat down across from me. I acknowledged with another nod. "I'm sergeant Jake." he extended his hand.

I reluctantly took it, not wanting to be rude and reject the human greeting. "Nice to meet you, sergeant."

"Why aren't you with those hunters?" he asked. "The other female and the robot?"

"Who, Gandrayda and Ghor?"

"Yes."

"They're in different ships. There wasn't enough room for more than three in this one." I explained, my stomach churning. I didn't know why I was feeling this much anxiety. Did I meet him in a bad way before? I didn't remember anything happening between me and a Galactic Federation marine...

Samus wasn't so comfortable having him in here either, and stirred in her chair as she piloted her vessel. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she didn't like this trooper one bit.

It took several minutes and a few awkward conversations later till we arrived with the rest of the Galactic Federation on Norion. There was a massive dock where all the ships were parked, and many hallways that fed into it leading into the GFED ground base. Samus landed on an area near the escapees from the starship _Phoenix_. The humans filed out, as did Trace and Weavel.

Samus and I abandoned the trooper in the flood of people entering the base. She wanted to stay with me, so she held my hand while we went with the flow. Once on the inside, our living arrangements were separately made, and we went to the cafeteria for our late lunch we never got to finish. There, we found Gandrayda, Ghor, and the rest of the bounty hunters. Spire was there as well, a heat blanket over his rocky body as he ate something soupy.

The entire fleet was inside the lunchroom, all talking to each other about the mysterious creature aboard Olympus. I looked around at the great gathering, noticing that the mysterious Federation trooper was nowhere to be seen.


	9. Training Session

A large plate stacked with four biscuit like things was set onto our table, all of them steaming hot. The waiter smiled, "Enjoy!" he walked away.

Gandrayda leaned over them and inhaled the fumes through her nose. She made a face. "Those smell nasty."

I picked one up in with two fingers, examining it. "What are they, exactly?"

Ghor looked at the menu. "I believe they're called Hot Pockets. Some sort of wheat roll usually filled with cheeses, vegetables or meats. These particular Pockets are flavored pepperoni."

I dropped the Hot Pocket onto the plate. "I'm not eating that."

Samus laughed. "They can't be that bad, can they?" she reached for one and took a bite. We watched her chew, and then spit out the mushed up pepperoni and crunchy dough. The three of us started laughing. "You're right, Gandrayda. That was disgusting," she accepted a glass of water from Ghor, and downed it in about three swallows.

I patted her armored shoulder. "You're quite the warrior, Samus."

She smiled. "That was one of the worst tasting things I've ever eaten. Besides throwing up that Phazon on Bryyo. That burned like heck..."

Someone approached our table, and I found them to be Admiral Dane. He had a grin on his face once he saw us. "You four like to stick together, huh?"

We all nodded. It was true.

"Well, if you're so attached, then how would you all like to join the other hunters and I to that training session we promised? After all, we've got a new course set up right out there in Norion's forests," he pointed out a window, where endless treetops stretched across the once barren planet. "What do you say?"

"About time you asked us to go! Man, I've been bored out of my skull for what seems an eternity!" Gandrayda hollered, standing. "When do we get to do it?"

"Right now if you'd like," Dane turned his gaze down to our table. "I see you haven't taken a liking to Base Sector Zero's food."

We laughed. "It's gross, I'll admit." Samus said, getting to her feet.

The Admiral smiled. "Come on, you four. Let's go have some fun!"

We followed Dane out of the cafeteria and into an elevator, where we all had to crunch inside it. My bruise was touching the ceiling, my neck craned to the side because the metal box was too small for me. My shoulders touched either wall and I was bending my knees. I took up a lot of space, and was reminded then of how much more bulkier and muscular Phrygisians are than others.

Samus looked up to me, simpering from ear to ear. "Comfy up there?"

I nodded, the action rubbing the lump on my face against the light. "Absolutely," she laughed, and Gandrayda nudged her with her purple elbow.

"What?" I heard Samus quietly say. (Phrygisians have very good ears.)

"Getting cozy with Rundas? You tricky little thing!"

"Is that bad?"

"No. But since I've known him longer I thought I had dibs on him first."

Ghor leaned towards them. "Why aren't you two fighting over me?" his tone was disappointed.

"You're... not my type..." Gandrayda muttered, scooting to Admiral Dane.

"I'm everyone's type," Ghor grumbled crossing his arms. "I don't see how an eight foot tall alien is the better choice."

"Shut up, Ghor," the shapeshifter spat, returning the conversation to Samus. "So? Why have you gone after him?" I marveled at how they could talk about this and not even notice I was listening. Or even _present_ for that matter.

"I don't know. He just..."

"Just what? Come on!"

"Uh-"

"We're here, hunters!" Admiral Dane cut Samus off, the elevator doors opening on floor 7. His voice was shaking slightly, like he was laughing. "Let's commence the training," he stepped out of the elevator.

Gandrayda, with a slight sneer towards Samus, exited next, then Ghor, then Samus, then me. I was practically crawling out of the shaft. The four beings already standing in the hall were snickering. "It's cramped in there, Admiral. Could we fix that?" I asked, standing and stretching my tightened limbs. I was glad the passage was tall.

"Follow me," he didn't acknowledge my request, walking down the center of the corridor. The three of us followed behind him, calming our giddiness. "Now the other hunters will be there -except for Spire- and we'll send you into the forest to battle each other. You'll have as much time as needs necessary to defeat each of your rivals." we arrived at a door that lead to the outside world and went through it. I noticed Kanden, Weavel, Noxus, Sylux and Trace were waiting for us on the grass.

"If you find yourself face to face with someone, don't make a truce or chicken out. You _must_ fight them, whoever they are. If you win (mainly if you knock them to the ground and they can't get up) then you will move on and attack the next hunter you see. You will be tracked, so put these on you where they won't fall off." the Admiral handed each of us a small red patch, which blinked once I placed it on my left shoulder plating. "Whoever comes out on top in the end will be rewarded."

"With what, money?" Weavel asked, and Ghor's gaze immediately found the Space Pirate, yet he paid no heed.

"We will give you whatever you wish," Dane answered. "Hunters, face the forest. Once you're inside, you will be completely alone; and extremely far away from each other. Ready," the nine of us tensed, but Samus put her helmet over her head. Then, she got into a running position. "Set-" I looked at the others, prepared for what was to come. _"GO!" _

Each of us ran forward and into the trees, becoming instantly isolated.


	10. Down to Three?

It became suddenly quiet, and I was only aware of my own presence. It was like the other bounty hunters disappeared into thin air. Samus, who was to my right, Ghor to my left... Where did they go?

I slowed down to a jog, looking around the thick branches and heavy underbrush of the forest. Tidbits of light from the sun shined through the dense canopy, giving me hardly any source of sight. Nothing stirred besides the bushes that swayed when the breeze passed through them.

I manipulated ice around my hands, ready for whom I came across first, and began walking to wherever my feet took me.

After traveling for several lonely minutes, chills dashed up and down my spine, and I glanced around. I felt like I was being watched again. Who would have found me already?

I heard some rustling to my left, and I crouched behind a tree trunk. Slithering cautiously a few meters away was Kanden. I was confused. How did he suddenly become so small? His body was contracted and formed into what seemed to be some sort of larva. A large and jagged stinger on his tail signified to me that he wasn't all the way weaponless.

I heard far away shouts, and then Weavel and Sylux came into view. I saw Kanden turn towards the racket, and then scoot after them. I noticed that only Weavel's bottom half was battling Sylux, firing rockets from the soles of his boots.

"What the- ack!" I cried, someone wrapping their arms around my neck tightly. I heard Weavel's snarly voice, "Playing it safe, huh? I could kill you with only an arm!"

I raised my hand and fired ice at him, freezing his face. His grip over my throat didn't falter, and I was choking. "Weak! That's what you are, weak! Space Pirates are the strongest tribe in the galaxy!" Weavel's tone was muffled as he spoke through the ice covering his head.

I turned and smacked the Pirate onto a tree, hearing a large crack and his scream. The trunk was badly damaged, with Weavel clinging to it with one hand. I backed away from him, shooting frozen blasts that bounded him to the bark. Before I did, he lashed out with his right arm, an energy sword nearly cutting my chest. He barely cut me.

I stared at him stuck to the tree, finding it humorous. He couldn't move or talk. After a few moments of stillness, the little red tracker on his shoulder pad died, and hunter Weavel was out of the training session.

I turned to find that the battle with Sylux and the bottom half of the Space Pirate had stopped, with the assaulting pair of legs standing mechanically on the undergrowth. Sylux was now shooting Kanden, now full in towering height.

Kanden roared, bright electricity exploding from the tip of his gun. His adversary leaped to the side, with the attack hitting a tree and charring it. Transforming into a green ball of energy, Sylux aimed two entwined metal bars towards its enemy, then fired a burst that blew its foe back twenty feet. A deafening boom came from the other direction, and I watched as a massive tree fell and crushed Kanden. His arm was the only thing seen after the impact, and the red tracking sphere on his wrist ended its blinking.

Sylux raised its gun to the air, laughing at its success. That was one powerful knock out! I gaped, and was about to emerge from my hiding spot to fight it, but stopped as something long, thin and crimson caught my eye. It trailed across the ground and onto the back of Sylux's head. I stared in wonder. What was it?

A jet of blood erupted from its helmet after a hushed bang, and the mechanical hunter fell to the ground. The circular tracker on its back dimmed to nothing.

"Holy crap!!" I whispered to myself, and watched as Trace walked into view. He was holding some sort of weapon in his vermillion claws.

The Kriken stood in the pool of blood that expanded around Sylux. "Headshot! Yeah! You know," he spoke to the body. "I would have loved to make it more messy, but seeing as this was a training session, I wanted to keep it clean." he lifted his foot from the gory ground, chuckling as it dripped red. "Well, clean enough."

I got up from my perch and launched a thick, sharp dagger of ice towards Trace. He didn't notice, too engrossed in his sniped victory. The ice slice into his jugular, and then speared him against a tree. Trace gasped and choked, dropping his Imperialist and reaching for the ice skewered through him.

I approached, taking his gun and staring at it. He turned his eye towards me, glaring. I smiled, finding the trigger and shooting the tracker on his thigh. The beam went straight out of the other end of his leg, and bore into his ankle of the other foot. Trace screamed croakily, making gurgling sounds as he struggled to breathe. I threw the Imperialist into a random direction, and then impaled all of his flailing limbs to the tree. "Stay still and you won't die so fast," I said, walking away from the quartet of injured hunters and to wherever the other four were.

I continued to travel through the seemingly endless forest, knowing that if I beat Gandrayda, Ghor, Noxus and Samus, I'd earn that prize and win this little training competition. I wasn't too worried about Noxus. But, seeming as I knew the potential of Gandrayda and Ghor, I had to think of a plan to conquer them. I wasn't looking forward to facing Samus. How would I fight her again? Knowing this time I had my own free will?

I ignored those thoughts till when I actually faced her, keeping myself focused on walking.

I felt someone behind me, and turned to see an indigo blur that smacked me across the head. The blow was powerful, and made me stumble. I looked with blurry vision to Noxus, who was smiling as he held two sharp, ice swords towards my chest. "So, Rundas. I see you've been laying low and not fighting. What's the matter? Too afraid to get your tentacles ripped off again?"

I looked him up and down. "Are you scared enough to guard your groin?" he kept his legs closer together than when we first faced off.

Noxus frowned. "How about I tear off your entire head this time?" he began to pace around me, and I followed his action by walking on his opposite side.

"How about you stop talking so you can do it?" I mocked, stopping as he did. He clenched his fists, lunging forward and slashing at me with his swords.

I dodged left and right, unscathed. "Stop moving!!" Noxus grunted.

I ducked as his frozen blade swished above my head, lashing out and punching him in the stomach. The air was knocked out of him, the ice katanas snapped, and he held for his abdomen and stepped away a few paces.

I straightened up and unleashed an ice blast that shot him backward. Noxus yelled and flailed his arms as he was stuck to a wide trunk. Only his torso was frozen, but when I approached, he smiled. "Have you forgotten that I can control ice too?" Noxus placed his hands on the ice and melted it into water, which ran down his body and onto the grass. "Have you forgotten that the Vhozons were once part of the Phrygisian race? That most of us left after the Great War and created our own tribe?" Noxus stepped towards me, but I didn't move from my position. He then stood on his toes to reach my height, for he was shorter than me. "Have you forgotten that I'm as strong as you?"

I glared at him, breathing heavily. "No," I said sternly, and Noxus lowered himself and took a step back. "But did _you_ know that I trained with the Galactic Federation as a child? Or did you know that I have faced the great Samus Aran, and lived?" he tightened his fists again, snarling. "And did you know, Noxus," I leaned down, putting my face close to his. "that-"

He suddenly screamed, his body jerking madly. I straightened up, startled at what was happening. Violet bolts darted up and down him, and then Noxus fell to the ground, his limbs stiff yet still twitching.

I looked up to see Gandrayda perched on a tree branch. "-water conducts electricity? And that you were wet?" she laughed, swinging down and landing next to me. "Thanks for stalling him. Really helped. But," she flicked her fingers in my direction and fired purple lightning at me, which I had nearly a second to dodge. "I want that prize. And I'm gonna fight you for it!" Gandrayda leaped and began to bound across the bushes, doing graceful cartwheels and hand stands. I followed her with my arms, hurling ice bursts at her. The shapeshifter curved her back to evade my attacks, landing lightly on her feet.

"Doesn't this bring back memories, Rundas?" she said as she leaped forward and latched onto me, sending shocks through me that blurred my sight and clouded my thoughts. I gasped. "Memories of the power of corruption?"

She got off, slinking around me. I shook my head, trying to clear my vision. "Corruption was one of the worst things that's ever happened to me. Why should you be reminiscing?"

Gandrayda giggled. "But it was so fun! I remember when I fought Samus like that!" she shot more electricity at me but this time I counterattacked and froze her feet to the ground. "Hey! What'd you do that for?"

"Why are you fighting me for that prize? You get what you want from others!" I replied.

"That's the point!" she raised her hand to zap me again, but I froze her arms mid-movement. "Augh! Stop!"

I held my palm to her forehead. "Not a chance," Gandrayda screamed once she was incased, calling me words that's meanings I didn't know. I turned away. "Have fun melting." I saw her red tracker stop bleeping, and the shapeshifter was disqualified.

Walking through the brush, it grew quiet again. I looked to the little blinking circle on my shoulder armor, smiling that I had survived thus far. Maybe I wasn't such a failure as I'd thought...

"Hey, no fair!" I heard a shout from ahead, seeing Ghor with his back against a tree, Samus holding her gun on his chest. "I don't have any good weapons, they weren't repaired!"

"Sorry Ghor," Samus said from inside her helmet, her velvet-ish voice sounding mechanical. "I don't take any pity on those who are unprepared," she prepared to fire her firearm-

"No, stop! Please don't shoot me, Samus. Please!" Ghor pleaded, clasping his metal hands. "I've already felt the torture your gun brings, don't inflict it on me again! I've got it! I'll turn myself off! Then I'll be out without getting hurt!"

Samus's shoulder pads shook as she chuckled. "All right, I'll let you go this time. But if you forfeit again I'll report to Admiral Dane."

The robot's body relaxed as his capturer lowered her weapon. "Thank you, thank you! I'll pay you back somehow." Ghor reached up to his head, and clicked something just below his jaw on his neck. The lights that signified he was awake died, and his body went limp as he fell to the underbrush.

Samus sighed, shaking her head. "He was always a bit of a coward."

I stepped into the area. "Not necessarily. He is a war veteran, you just scared him."

She looked to me. "So you're still in, huh? Congratulations."

I smiled. "You too."

"Well," Samus cocked her gun. "I guess since we're the last ones left we've got to fight each other."

I frowned. "I can't, though."

She froze. "Why not?"

"Not on purpose. I won't fight you now that I have my own free will."

She approached me, and I saw her eyes turn soft through her visor. "Oh, Rundas-"

"Ha!" a deep, scratchy voice hooted. We both turned our heads around to find the source. "Ain't that sweet? The Phrygisian is falling for the human."

A thud came from the side, and I saw a Galactic Federation marine, only his body was demented and spiked. Spines were sticking out of his armor, his visor was cracked, and his hands were clawed, with only three fingers. His boots were torn through by razored, black barbs. A long tail flicked around behind him, and two wing like extensions protruded from his deformed back.

I grabbed my head, bright flashes zooming through my mind. Samus looked up to me, "Rundas? Are you okay?"

I suddenly had a headache, and then I remembered who this familiar person was.

"Sergeant Jake."


	11. Weakness

The mutant laughed crazily. "Aren't you a smart one? I didn't think you'd recognize me."

"Sergeant Jake?" Samus held her gun towards him as she said it. "You're the one who attacked Spire!"

He shrugged. "Thank you for seeing that, little lady. But, I've done a lot more than that. I survived Phaaze's destruction, merged with a Metroid, and gotten more toys to play with!"

Samus and I exchanged glances. "What do you mean?"

"So _Rundas_," he said, and I got into a fighting position. "you say you don't like heat, right?" I didn't respond. "Is this hot enough for you?"

Jake lunged forward, magma exploding out of his hands and directly towards me. Caught totally by surprise, it hit me square in the chest, eating through my armor and dripping onto my legs and feet. I screamed in absolute pain. Barely touching my melted plating, I looked back up to him, panting.

"Did that tire you out, buddy?" he teased. "How about an extra dosage of ice, then?" Jake shot an ice blast at me from his claws, which chilled the lava on me into hard rock. I shuddered, the newly made ice tickled. "Feel better?" I snarled at him.

"You took the hunters powers?" Samus gasped.

He nodded. "Impressive, right? My favorites are Weavel," he extended his right, mutated arm, the same energy sword that the Space Pirate had emerging from his wrist. "Gandrayda," electricity shot from his fingers and into the sky, and his suit transformed into the shapeshifter I knew well. He smiled with Gandrayda's lips. "Trace," he pointed his finger towards Ghor on the ground, the same red laser coming out of it and landing on the back of the robots head.

He was about to fire, but Samus shot his arm with a missile that froze the limb solid. "You're not hurting Ghor!" she spat.

He tilted his head to the side. "Unfortunately, I don't have all their abilities. Kanden was awake, Sylux was shut off, and, well, I didn't have any time to get you, now did I?" he spoke to me. "But, since I'm on strict orders to take each of your powers, I'd better get cracking!" Jake ran forward, morphing back into himself again and creating ice swords on his hand that wasn't frozen.

Samus ran to the side, and I took off into the air on an ice path. I circled around the perimeter, then dropped to the ground and landed next to the girl. "Okay Rundas, what do you suggest we do? I don't see any part he favors."

"Hm..." I watched Jake turn around and face us, hurling globs of magma to where we were standing. We both kept our footing and were able to avoid the puddles they made once they landed. "What about the weaknesses of the bounty hunters he's taken? I haven't fought them before, but you have. Can't you remember what they were?"

"It's been a little while, but I'll try. I just can't quite get him when he's in his normal form. I don't know what hurts regular Galactic Federation troopers!"

Jake bounded across the area in a few leaps, then fired electricity directly at Samus. She didn't have enough time to dodge, so I tackled her to the side and away from the sparks. I was on top of her when we landed. "Thanks," she breathed.

I nodded. "You're welcome," I looked back and rolled off her, right as Jake blew a hole in the ground by his new Imperialist. I stood, Samus turning into a morph ball and rolling over to me. She straightened out and stood by me as Jake unsheathed his energy sword. He came for us.

"Wait, didn't he say he was part Metroid?" I asked, ducking beneath the beam and grabbing the sergeant's legs, hurling him across the ground and into a tree. I hoped that it would fall down on him, but I hadn't thrown hard enough. "Dang it!"

"Metroid's weak spots are their mouths. But Jake's is beneath his helmet! If only-"

"If only what?"

She looked at me. "If only we could somehow take it off. Then I could shoot and see if it'll hurt him."

I turned towards the demented trooper, who was getting up and rubbing his back from the collision with the trunk. "I'll hold him down if you take it off."

"What? No! He'll kill you!" Samus protested.

"It's worth the risk, Samus. We have no choice. I'll go in, get rid of the helmet, and then you hit him, got it?"

She looked unsure, but complied. "Okay."

I ran forward, colliding with Jake. He expected me to stop once we crashed into each other, but I kept running till I pinned him against a tree. I froze my hands on his spiked shoulders, which cut into my palms and bled all over. Jake saw Samus coming, and started kicking my chest and stomach frantically.

I didn't falter, merely grunting and coping with the blows he dealt. Samus approached, reaching for his helmet. She about had her fingers around it when Jake jerked his head back, wings breaking through the ice around him. I stepped back, crying out at the pain in my middle finger. It was the longest one, and the most sensitive.

Jake extended his wings, laughing. Then, he flapped them, flying above the trees. Samus looked at me. "What happened?"

"I think he broke something..." I stared at my crooked finger, sharp stinging shooting through it.

"We'll deal with that later, I have an idea. Come on! We've got to get to Sector Zero's cannon."

"But that means we have to go inside!" I said, following after her as she ran back into the forest. I had to dodge lightning bolts that cracked to the ground and Imperialist rays that could've blown my head off.

"Exactly! He didn't dare show himself on Olympus, so why would he reveal what he is in front of the entire Federation?"

I nodded. "Makes sense. But what if he comes back down to the ground before we can shoot him?" I asked.

"Don't worry. There's a zooming feature on the cannon's aiming device. It's in orbit above Norion, so we'll be able to hit anything that's on the planet."

"Good. He's starting to really piss me off," I grunted, keeping up with her fast sprint. "What with taking everybody's powers and everything,"

Samus gasped, which made me stare at her anxiously. "What? What's wrong?"

"We left Ghor back there. Oh, I hope he's okay..." she sounded guilty.

"Hey, didn't he turn himself off? Jake couldn't take his abilities even if he wanted to. Sylux was offline too. He couldn't get its powers."

She nodded. "You're right. I need to calm down," she pressed her finger to the ear lobe of her helmet. "We're here." We emerged out of the forest and plowed through the door, getting back inside Sector Zero. Nobody was around the hallway we were in, and the windows that revealed the outside were dimming.

"It's nightfall already?" I wondered, tagging along behind Samus when she continued to run. "That was fast."

"Days are shorter on Norion. You should know, Rundas. Don't you only have four hours of daylight on Phrygis?"

"Yeah, but I haven't been there in year," I responded, looking towards an elevator that we passed. "Why aren't we taking the-"

"No time, we've got to take the stairs," she kicked down the stairwell door, dashing up the steps with me behind her.

I hurried to get behind her, then I scooped my hands beneath her legs and cradled her in my arms. Samus gasped as I skated along an ice path almost vertically, ascending the well. "This is faster," I said, looking towards the skylight.

Samus chuckled. "Brings back memories, huh? When Ridley had me in that shaft and we were falling? How you rescued me?"

_"That was a little too hot for my liking. Well done, Samus. But, now you owe me one."_ I recited from what seemed an eternity ago. "That was when I first met you."

She laughed. "Those were the days, hm?" I smiled as we reached the top, and I landed on the top step. I stood, with Samus still in my arms. She fit perfectly. "Um. Rundas you can let me down, now," she said after a few moments.

"Oh! Of course!" I got her to her feet, blushing and scratching the back of my head with my injured finger. "Ow..."

She turned and opened the door. I looked around and saw the elevator where Gandrayda, Ghor, Samus, and I rode in a while back. Why did I want to ride it in the first place? After all, I _did_ get to hold Samus (_extremely_ closely) for the first time...

"Rundas? Are you all right?" she asked from inside the control room. After snapping out of my daze, I nodded, following her inside.

Eyeing the familiar room, I remembered exactly where I had fallen after getting struck with Phazon. I saw the once-broken window Dark Samus had come through, and recalled the ball of Phazon that she had arrived in.

I pried my gaze from the pane and my joined Samus at the console, where she was pressing buttons that alerted the cannon of her orders. She stopped typing suddenly, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. "Uh..."

"What?" I asked, staring at her.

"I'm not sure where Jake is... Or the coordinates of his location," she face-palmed. "I knew I should've written those down..."

"Didn't you have the area stored in your database?"

"I did, but it didn't keep track of where I was. My map was only of the base. How are we going to stop him?"

An alarm blared noisily from speakers around the room, and a recorded voice said from the intercom, "Lockdown protocol engaged. Complete sealing of Base Sector Zero initiated. Repeat: lockdown protocol engaged. Complete sealing of Base Sector..." the voice restated the message as heavy metal covers slid in front of the windows, also in front of the door. The cannon's computer shut itself off, and the chamber was only lit by flashing red floodlight that swirled on the ceiling.

"It's Larsen! He did this!" Samus worried, looking at me. "He's going for the other bounty hunters!"

"Then when he's got everybody's powers..." I said, and Samus joined with me on the last four words slowly, "He'll come for us."

"No! No! No!" she cried, going to the door and banging on it with her hand and gun. "We can't let him take their powers!"

I approached her, gently scooting her aside. "Allow me." I leaned back and kicked the door as hard as I could, not even making a dent. A little startled, I continued, even when nothing happened after my many attempts.

Samus was scanning it, her visor glowing green when she did. "This is Jovian Steel. The hardest material in the entire galaxy. And as luck would have it," she turned her head around. "the entire room is made from Jovian. Ugh, we're never going to get out of here!" she slumped to the floor. "This has never happened to me."

I put my arm around her shoulders and kneeled. "We'll make it. After all," Samus turned her helmet towards me. "we're the good guys. Justice will prevail and all that stuff... right?" I saw her smile, and then sit.

"I guess we wait until he comes. Until then, we'll prepare, somehow." I sat next to her, watching the glowing light that spun overhead.

Static came from the intercom, but was cleared by a husky, deep voice. "So you're both in the control tower, eh? It must be pretty cold up there, how about I warm you lovers up a bit?"

A groan came from the walls, and the heating vents exerted hot, dry air that drifted to Samus and I. I breathed in, coughing raggedly as the stale oxygen entered my lungs. My comrade held my shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I rasped, covering my mouth. "just a little heat, that's all."

"If it gets bad you need to cover yourself in ice, got it?" she asked, and I nodded. "I wouldn't want to lose you too."

"Don't worry about me, Samus. I'll be fine," I repeated, my tone hoarse and rough all of a sudden. Neither she or myself realized how heavily I was lying. _Not again..._


	12. Inferno

It had been about twenty minutes, and Samus and I had gotten more and more exhausted as the searing air blasted us. She eventually removed her helmet and wiped away the sweat on her forehead. Her hair was stuck to her face and damp from the perspiration, her cheeks red as she panted. Her locks left wet spots on the Jovian Steel whenever they dripped.

I was leaning against the wall, my eyelids drooping. I could hardly breathe without choking, and since my body was hardly with any water from being scorched (besides the sweltering, which I wasn't able to use), I could not form ice that would cool us off. The heat increased, skyrocketed, and built up till I couldn't stay awake anymore.

Sooner or later, I fell unconscious.

_**The hall was a plain shade of cream, with high walls and a sturdy, echoing floor. I found myself on my feet in the middle of it as it stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. So far, I was alone.**_

_** A familiar person strolled by me. Gandrayda, with her swinging hips and proud smile, issued me to follow her down the corridor. I did so, and walked alongside her.**_

_** We entered a chamber that was occupied by Ghor. Except, his body was fused with his larger, bulkier battle suit. He stood facing a large throne, unmoving, but gave me a small grin as he watched Gandrayda and I walk into the room.**_

_** The three of us lined up single file, awaiting the commands of a suited figure that sat and watched quietly. I recognized the large shoulder pads, the pointed chest armor, and the three pronged, blue glowing eye slit in the helmet. **_

_** "Rundas," Dark Samus said, and I stepped forward out of orders. I had no choice, I had always listened to her eagerly. "You have failed me."**_

_** My eyes widened. "What? How?"**_

_** "You did not complete the task that I issued to you. Did I not say for you to attack Samus Aran?"**_

_** "But I did as you told! We battled and you saw it! The fight was extensive!" I spluttered, trying to convince her that I had obeyed. **_**Very**_** intently.**_

_** "You thought you did. But," she sat forward, her gaze boring into my soul in criticism. "you did not."**_

_** I approached her, pleading. "How can I make up for this, mother? I'll do whatever I can!"**_

_** I could sense her smile wickedly, for I could not see her face. "If you wish to please me, Rundas, then you will aid Chromia in Samus Aran's destruction. After you and your companions defeat her -which you MUST- then bring her body to me. I plan to have good use for it. Only then will you renew your promise to me and be respectable in my eyes." Dark Samus leaned back in her chair, resting her head on the back of the throne. **_

_** "And when your aim is succeeded?" I asked longingly.**_

_** Our master chuckled. "The Fate of the Galaxy rests in my hands." **_

__I jerked suddenly awake, taking in a sharp breath. I ended up coughing so hard it seemed I was barking, and I saw blood on my hand when I took it back after covering my mouth. I smeared it on my right thigh, hallucinations beginning. I watched the Jovia melt with dripping sounds, but as soon as I blinked, the vision disappeared.

Samus moaned, and I looked down to see her wet head resting in my lap. Her helmet was where she sat before I dreamt, and she breathed in and out softly and quietly. I stroked her sopping hair, running my fingers through it. Samus relaxed once I touched her, and made herself more comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one could get in scalding conditions.

How long had we been sitting here, together? It seemed like it had been a night. But Jake wouldn't extend his time to that feat just to steal abilities. If I were him (which I'm so glad I'm not), I would've gotten those powers, and bolted to wherever my enemies were hiding. And he _knew_ where we were.

Why didn't he come?

I stopped petting Samus, and laid my head against the wall. I immediately took it back, for it burned a small section of my skin. The bounty hunter in my lap raised her hand and mumbled, "No... keep... doing 'at... 'undas..." she was so fevered she couldn't talk straight.

I gently turned Samus over onto her back, her eyes closed. I parted her mouth slightly, hovering my fingers above her lips. I let ice form at the ends, which melted instantly when they contacted with the dry air. Cold, refreshing water drizzled down my fingers and onto her sandpapery tongue. She swallowed and gasped, slightly opening her eyes.

Samus whimpered for more water, sitting up a little. I calmed her with my other hand on her collar bone, lowering her back onto my lap. She gladly drank the half pint of water that poured down my fingers, not realizing that it was my last bit. "I'm sorry, that's all I have," I said softly, my voice apologetical. "I wish I could give you more..."

Samus, suddenly gaining her senses back, opened her eyes fully, more life and energy in them than before. She sat up, looking at me, her face worried. "Rundas... You're pale..." she reached up and cupped my swollen cheek in her armored hand.

I shook my head. "It's nothing," I croaked, smiling slightly. "I'm just glad you're okay."

She looked down to my leg. "Is that... blood?"

Nodding, I said, "Don't worry, it'll-" I heaved, cutting off my own speech and spitting up more blood. I tried to stop it with my hand, but the gush was great enough to surge through my fingers and drip down my arm. Most of my gore covered the ground. "-stop." I finished with a gurgle.

Samus looked shocked, an emotion that wasn't common on her face. "Is it because you're dehydrated?"

I shrugged. "It isn't too bad-" 

"Too bad?" she echoed, her voice rising. "You just threw up blood! That seems pretty bad to me! Why didn't you give yourself some of your water?"

"Because of you. I hate seeing you hurt," I said, watching her eyes widen.

"But I wasn't-"

"Yes," I interrupted. "You were. I didn't want you to suffer so I helped you instead of myself. Besides, I'm bigger than you are, plus I have a longer time period before I die of dehydration. I had to save you first." I smiled, making my point. "The greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy can't die because I was too selfish."

"Thank you," Samus breathed after a pause. She looked like I had done the nicest thing for her. "Rundas, I have to tell you something..." she laid her head on my shoulder, sitting next to me.

"I-" we both said at the same time. "No, you say it..." Samus muttered.

"Ladies first." I said curtly, she taking a deep breath.

"I've never told anyone this..."

"Why?" I asked, turning my head down to her. "Is it a secret?"

"Not exactly... This is just a first for me..."  "Well? Say it!"

"Rundas... Remember when we were on Olympus with Gandrayda and Ghor?"

I nodded.

"Well... When I first saw you... I felt... strange..." I frowned. Was that a bad thing? "But it was a _good_ kind of strange..." Relief. "I had butterflies in my stomach and I felt hot...

"And when you saved me from Ridley... It finally clicked..."

I leaned towards her. "Yeah?"

Samus looked up to me with her gorgeous blue eyes. "I love you."


	13. Straight Shot Down

I was more elated than I would ever be to hear her say that, and reached out and hugged her tightly. Happiness was building up in my chest, and I let out a joyful sigh. Yet, my breath upset my parched throat, causing me to cough blood into Samus's hair. Moaning, I grumbled, "Great. I just ruined the moment..."

She laughed, pulling away from me and sticking her soft lips onto mine. I closed my eyes, thinking that this was my second -and official- kiss by the bounty hunter which I adored. She let go, smiling as she wiped away blue on her chin. "You made the moment more memorable. Does that make you feel better?"

I grinned, nodding. But then I stopped, "Do you hear that?"

She froze too, turning her head around. A quiet, scratching noise was coming from the outer wall, along with intendedly hushed footsteps. Samus pressed her ear to the Jovia, listening.

I followed the action, hearing a familiar voice say in a creepy sing-song tone, "The Hunter comes for bait, thus practically lying in wait... Evil shall come, once Glory is gone... Hunter or Hunted? The price remains the same, death is the outcome... The door falls too-"

Sure enough, the Jovian door blew open, and the mutated Jake Larsen stepped into the room. "-and _BOOM!_ I found you!!"

Samus and I both stood, facing him. He whistled. "What have we here? Getting a little close, now, are we Rundas?" He wiggled his pointer finger from side to side. "Now, now, we don't need to be-"

Samus interrupted him, firing her charge beam at his face. "Shut up, Jake!!"

His neck was craned backward in a disgusting way. But he straightened it up with a few cracks. "A little feisty, are we? Don't you think she's _too_ hot for you, Rundas?"

"I said _shut up!! _You worthless parasite!!" She fired again, this time hitting him with a missile straight in the chest.

He didn't flinch. "Aww, she's mad. Come here, baby, I'll make you feel better," Jake approached her with open arms. "I always have-!!"

Samus retreated next to me, holding my arm tightly. I looked from her to the sergeant several times, a tad perplexed. What was going on between these two?

"So that's how it's gonna be, then? You get the alien that you always dreamed of. And what do I get?" He lowered his head, but I could feel his gaze on me. "Eternal damnation if I fail this mission. I'm sorry, Samus," he held up his clawed hand, which now was clenched around the Imperialist. "but as much as we liked each other as teenagers, I'm gonna have to destroy you, Master's orders."

"I never liked you! All you were was a show off!" Samus shouted to him through clenched teeth.

"But I was no different from _him_!" He stabbed a finger towards me, and I wondered vaguely what he was talking about.

"Rundas changed!!" She held up her weapon, the end of it glowing bright. "You did not!"

Jake roared and began to attack, except not at us. He was aimed at the ceiling. "You crushed my dreams of having a family!" The Jovian Steel above began to buckle. _"And now I'm gonna crush you!!" _

His attacks were so intense that the roof crumpled and fell. Sharp, large chunks of the Steel falling to the ground with loud rings. I grabbed Samus, jerking her to the side with me, and she landed on top. "Look out!!" She cried as Jake destroyed the remaining areas of the ceiling, intent on pulverizing us. I rolled, making sure I didn't hurt her when I was above, forcing myself to go faster to escape the plunging Jovia.

Something red gleamed on my hand, and I shoved Samus away several feet. I barely pulled my fingers from the Imperialist explosion. Then a screeching sounded, my heart stopping when I heard a piercing scream.

I flipped my head over to Samus, who was lying on the ground. Her eyes were closed in pain, the last remains of the ceiling had fallen onto her legs. The jagged pieces of Jovia had sliced through her armor, sinking into her bones. Blood was running everywhere.

"Samus!!" I called in worry, standing and running to her aid.

But Jake stepped in front of me. "Oh shut your trap, Phrygisian," he growled, pointing his gun towards me. "Or I'll blow your mouth off."

I grew angry. My friend was suffering! Why did he stand in my way? "Beat it, Larsen!" I reached forward and smacked him across the head, the mutant was hurled rightward by the force of my blow. He crashed into the wall, grunting.

I heaved the metal off Samus, and she cried out in pain. With sucking noises, the shards were free of her bleeding, broken legs. She clenched her teeth, tears streaming down her face as I scooped her up, leaping over the rubble on the floor and sprinting down the stairs. "You'll be all right, Samus," I said assuredly, taking the steps three at a time. "stay with me now."

She reached up and curled her fingers gently around one of my tentacles. "Rundas..."

_ "COME BACK HERE!!!" _I heard the sergeant bellow from the control room, but I had already descended two flights. Booms and bangs came from above, but I kept going, disregarding if he was chasing me or not.

Suddenly Jake landed in my path, electricity erupting from his suit and fire forming around his hands. I skidded to a stop on a landing, turning and attempting to run back up the steps. He jumped over me, standing in front of and blocking my escape route. "You can't get away from me! I'll kill you both!" He clenched his fists as lava gushed in between his fingers.

I smiled. "Not this time, Jake." I held Samus close to me, and swung my legs off the railing, free falling down the stairwell.

"Son of a--" I didn't hear the rest of his insult, for I was dropping at a fast pace, the wind muting. I looked down to see the main floor of Sector Zero coming up fast.

"Crap!"

I hit the ground feet first, pain shooting up my legs and throughout the lower half of my body. I collapsed onto my face, but let Samus roll away. "Agh! Rundas, are you okay?" She dragged herself over to me as I held my soles, groaning with agony. She placed her hand on my shoulder.

I ignored the pain and looked at her. Samus's face was wet from when she cried, and more tears rolled down her cheeks. "Why... are you... crying?" I struggled to say, but managed.

Her eyes flicked to the side and she responded with a shriek, and I gazing downward to see Jake land with a thud that rattled the windows on the ground floor. He straightened up, completely unscathed. "That was a pretty daring move you made there, ice warrior. But," he walked forward with ease, almost like he hadn't even jumped the well. "really stupid." Jake grabbed me by the throat, pulling me to my aching feet.

He kept me from falling by shoving me against a wall. "Now I need to get this done. You tried to postpone the inevitable, Rundas. It just doesn't work with Sergeant Jake M. Larsen."

I hissed through my teeth as he froze me to the wall with Noxus's powers, "What does the 'M' stand for? Mediocre?"

I felt his glare on me. "No genius, _Metroid." _

Little spiked tendrils came from his back, which crept up and onto the scruff of my neck, boring themselves into it. I grunted, feeling like life energy was being drained from me. I heard Samus's distance howl, _"No!!!!"_

I went limp, my head lolling forward and my eyes closing. My body felt numb, and like I was being injected with some sort of sleep-inducing concoction. I watched with dimming sight as a look of realization flooded Samus's face, then as fumbled with something on her arm cannon, aiming the expanded, sparking end of the weapon towards my drainer's turned back. The barrel of the gun turned blue, and then, with an insane amount of light, the entire hallway was engulfed in a laser that blew Samus backward and into the opposite wall.

I opened my eyes a second later, finding the corridor at normal brightness again. My ears adjusted from quiet, and I heard gurgling wails that had the potential to shatter glass.

I pulled my head out of the wall, staring directly downward. Jake was writhing below me, the mutated spikes and tentacles on his body wiggling and squirming. His suit was heavily damaged, charcoaled from Samus's exploding gun, and zapping. Red blood expanded in a pool around him, mixed with black as it boiled.

I remembered that I had to kill him. If what he said about eternal damnation was true, then I wanted to be the one who inflicted it on him.

I held onto the wall tightly, making sure I balanced my weight evenly on my injured feet. "Any last words?" I asked him, holding my hand out. Ice mist formed below him dangerously.

"The mother... shall rise again..." He croaked, still twisting in agony. "And when she does... the G... Galaxy shall be... hers..." Jake tilted his head up with heavy effort, his neck snapping as he did. In a gasp, he said quickly, "Including you!!!"

I shook my head, making a disgusted face. I brought my hand up, a large sliver of ice shooting up from the ground, breaking through the sergeant's back and out of his abdomen. He couldn't scream, but died a silent, quick death.

I smiled at Samus, who dropped her head to the ground in relief. She was gasping, but it was a calmed gasping.

Footsteps came from the opposite end of the hall, and a handful of the Galactic Federation fleet came to our location. Admiral Dane was in the lead. "What happened here?"

Samus replied, "It's all right, Admiral. Everything's fine-!!"

I collapsed.


	14. Familiar Faces

"Sh! Sh!"

"Don't you shush me!"

"Does shut up work better?"

"Jerk."

"Isn't the first time someone's told you that."

"Ugh."

I stirred, but kept my eyes closed. Before I opened them, I said, "You guys are annoying."

Quiet came after, and I peeked. Gandrayda stood in front of me, accompanied by Ghor and Samus, who was sitting in a wheelchair. I blinked. "You're all right?"

Each of my friends smiled, with Samus's the biggest. "We were worried about you when you passed out. Are you okay now?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to ask you about that beam you shot... What was that?"

She chuckled. "Zero Laser. It's one of my most powerful weapons. When I was invited to join Super Smash Brothers Brawl, or whatever it's called, that was my 'Final Smash'. Totally kills everyone in the arena. I used it on Jake when he was taking your powers." Samus wasn't in her Varia Suit anymore, I inquired. She was now wearing a blue jumpsuit that hugged her body. She was as curvy as Gandrayda. If not, curvier.

"Thank you. I guess that's the debt you needed to pay me for saving your life," she smiled.

I looked down at myself, seeing that several tubes were running up the bedside and into my body. I shivered, and followed the cords with my eyes to a few liquid nitrogen tanks. I shook my head. "Of course. I'm in the hospital _again_. How many times will I be in here?"

Ghor laughed. "You may have many more trips to come, Rundas. You can count on that."

I looked past the trio, seeing the rest of the bounty hunters as well. Trace, Weavel, Noxus, Kanden, Sylux, and Spire were laying on separate gurneys. Each seemed in good health, and I noticed that they all looked normal. Spire had his magma back, and everybody else had their weapons re-equipped. I guess Samus and I were the only ones severely injured.

A doctor approached, a man I knew. The messy blond hair and the dull green eyes were a dead giveaway. "Clark?"

He grinned broadly. "Rundas! You recognized me! How long has it been, six? Seven years? My, you've grown!"

I smiled. "Well, I was only a teenager when we met on Omni. Why aren't you there now?"

"The Federation needed more doctors to replace some of the men lost when Phaaze was destroyed. So, I applied and got the job! Now I'm working on Olympus and we'll see each other more often," he tapped the liquid nitrogen tanks. "Remember these?"

"Clearly." I replied, recalling when I was hooked up to a few of them after being dehydrated on the shuttle, _Explorer, _so long ago."Clark, do you know why I fainted?" I wondered.

The heads of Gandrayda, Ghor and Samus turned to him. He shrugged, exhaling audibly. "The other guys say it was heat stroke. If you wanna believe it."

I shrugged as well. "One can never know. So, can I walk?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, but you'll need crutches for the next month. We didn't have any big enough for you, so we kind of made our own..." He held out two metal poles that were bent crudely in the shapes of crutches. "They aren't the prettiest things in the world, but you'll have to use them to get around till your both fractures heal up. Along with your broken ankle."

I sighed. This was going to be a boring month of recovery. "Well? I should probably get used to them. Gimme those things!"


	15. Epilogue: Repeat

She woke up in a strange place, not knowing her identity or where she was. The surroundings were unfamiliar. The sky was dark, with something soft tickling her back half of her body. She sat up slowly, looking around as strange creatures stared at her.

They were tall and slender, with hard bodily plating and funnily shaped heads. The things glowed electric blue. There were many of them, all watching in wonder at her.

She stood cautiously, unsure of how the aliens would react. She felt comfortable here for some reason... Completely at home with the odd smelling air and even odder creatures around her. She thought she knew them...

And then it struck her like lightning. Memories of commanding enormous Space Pirate armies, corrupting the minds of servants, and corrupting the cores of planets. The polluted soil which she stood on was literally breathing with Phazon. The Pirate Homeworld had been swallowed whole and taken by the Leviathan Seed imbedded into its layers. Now, it was a clone of Phaaze. Phaaze II.

The memories stopped, and with a crisp and thoughtful mind, she smiled cruelly. She remembered everything now. Her past, her upbringing, everything.

But most importantly was her future, and how she would plan it.

The Pirates around her cheered in their tongue of grunts and roars. They knew who she was. They knew what would come, and would obey each and every one of her demands.

Dark Samus stretched her tightened muscles, feeling the Phazon course through her body freely. She felt great! Like she could do anything. Like... like... she could overthrow the Galaxy and bring the Galactic Federation and Samus Aran to their knees.

She rose from the ground, laughing maniacally and drinking in the sight of millions of Space Pirates gathering below her. They and Phaaze II were only the first step in her plan. But she would not complete it alone, she would use her surviving tools. Rundas, Gandrayda, and Ghor. Everything would work perfectly, and Samus could not stop her no matter what she tried.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Her voice deepened with each passing second.

The dark Hunter had been reborn.


End file.
